Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Russell climate change report published

The report by Sir Muir Russell into the 'Climategate' release of emails last November from Britain's influential Climatic Research Unit, has fascinating local links and implications.

First, a number of prominent climate scientists who feature in the emails now work for Edinburgh University. (Details in earlier posts here and here.)

Second, a controversial member of the enquiry is local ward resident Professor Geoffrey Boulton. From the start his presence as an enquiry member has been challenged on the grounds that he is not independent - inter alia having worked at the University of East Anglia for 18 years and having expressed effusive confidence in the 'highest levels of professional integrity' of climate scientists including those he was investigating. Details here. Examples of the calls for him to resign from the enquiry can be found here (from me) and here.

Thirdly, Edinburgh University has supplied another member of the enquiry team - Professor Peter Clarke who is Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy.

The report stretches to 160 pages - which is a little more serious than the 5 page report of the parallel Oxburgh enquiry which investigated the science of the CRU. You can find it here.

This blog will follow reaction to the report in subsequent posts and, doubtless, offer my reactions as I leaf my way through it.